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White House Cats

Here are some of the cats, past and present, who have lived in the White House in Washington, as pets of the Presidents or their families:

16th President, Abraham Lincoln: Tabby. The first White House cat.

19th President, Rutherford Hayes: Siam. A gift from the American Consul in Bangkok; this cat was the first Siamese to reach the United States (1878).

26th President, Theodore Roosevelt: Slippers and Tom Quartz.

29th President, Calvin Coolidge: Smokey, Blackie, Timmy and Tiger. Tiger was a grey stripped stray who used to be carried around the White House by the president, around his neck.

35th President, John Kennedy: Tom Kitten. When the cat died in 1962, he was given an obituary notice by the press.

38th President, Gerald Ford: Shan.

39th President, Jimmy Carter: A Siamese, Misty Malarky Ying Yang.

40th President, Ronald Reagan: Cleo & Sara, Tortoiseshell strays, also several unnamed cats.

42nd President, Bill Clinton: Socks and Buddy.

43rd President, George W. Bush: Ernie and India  "Willie" Bush.

A third cat, Cowboy, said to be the president's favourite, died of a kidney disease in February 2000 at the age of 12. 

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